catdogmouse said: sillar68 said: jkamra2 said: I want to get an iphone 5 off contract. It looks better to sign up for this deal (total in cart after tax is $211.26) and cancel and pay the EFT (EFT of $325 plus half a month of the $60 monthly service for $30) for a total of about $566.26. Buying straight from the Apple Store off contract, the total after tax is $704.17.

Am I missing something here, or is that the better way to get the iphone 5 off contract? This does not include the 5000 Reward Zone points or the 1.5% Fat Wallet Cash Back, which either or both would make this even better.

Help me Obi-Wan.....

If you cancel BEFORE the 14 day return policy, Verizon requires you to return the phone or pay the full price of the phone without activation = $699+tax. If you cancel AFTER 14 days the ETF is $350 for smart phones and you'll be billed for the ENTIRE month (they won't prorate), plus monthly taxes, plus the activation fee of $35.

You link to the policy, yet it doesn't say what you imply it says. I do not see where it says you would be have to pay the full price of the phone if you cancel before 14 days. You also say they don't prorate, yet here is the actual quote from their return page:

"Return and Service Termination

You may terminate service for any reason within 14 days of activation. If you purchased a wireless device at a promotional price at the time of activation, you must return it within the device return period to avoid being assessed an Early Termination Fee of $175, or $350 if you purchased an Advanced Device. You will remain responsible for your Activation Fee unless you terminate service within three days of activation. You will also be responsible for all applicable usage fees, prorated access charges, taxes, surcharges or other charges that accrued to your account through the termination date. If you paid a security deposit, it may take between 30 and 60 days to process the return of your security deposit. The charges for any service used on the account before the service termination date may be applied against your security deposit.

If you cancel your service after the 14–day period, but prior to the expiration of your minimum term, you will be responsible for all of the above–mentioned charges, including an Early Termination Fee.

If you return your merchandise, even by mistake, after the return period, you will not receive a refund and the merchandise you returned will not be returned to you."

I added the bold for emphasis. It says you must return the phone to avoid paying the 350 ETF. If you don't return it, you pay the $350. You get the activation fee back and they will prorate you for the month. If I buy it and cancel in the same day it should be 1/30 the cost of the monthly plan I assume?? From this, it seems to be cheaper for me to buy a 64gb iphone 5 from Verizon for $399 and cancel versus paying $850 for it off contract through Apple.

$399 ($350 from BB in this promo) + $350 ETF + $(1/30) monthly charge (should be 20 bucks at most)= $769 ($720 with BB promotion)+ taxes. It is $850 plus tax from Verizon or Apple without subsidy/2 year contract.

Am I missing something? Seems like I should do this.

Suggestions?

Edit: The reason I want this off contract is to keep my unlimited data on my grandfathered Verizon plan through my parents' family plan. Any easier way to do this?

How did this work out for you? Did you get the phone for the price you detailed after cancelling within 1 day of activation?

Great2008

Happy Member

posted: Dec. 16, 2012 @ 11:50a

Don't think I saw any feedback of trying to get a price-match from the Apple Store, so here's my experience. Note there is a special situation in MA state due to how sales tax is charged.

I purchased a Verizon iPhone5 from the Apple Store in MA less than a week before this deal. Tried calling Apple and they said that while unlikely, the only way to try to price-match would be to go to the store (since this was not an online order, they couldn't help). I spoke to a store manager and essentially here's the deal. In Massachusetts (not sure about other states) Apple is the only store that charges tax on the discounted value of the phone (so on 199, 299, 399) while ALL other resellers (Verizon, AT&T, BestBuy, etc) must charge sales tax on the FULL amount ("carried inventory" amount) so on 650 or 700 or whatever the full prices are. So usually it makes sense to buy devices in MA at the Apple stores to pay lower tax.

In this case, the manager said they can't price match because the difference ends up being less than $50 when you account for the above tax issue and would be more like $15 or so. I was nice (not demanding) and said I understood the policy, etc. Obviously I was within my return period and could've returned the device, purchased new from BestBuy, etc. But it didn't make sense for me because of dealing with new setup, accessories (installing Zagg screen protector correctly can take an hour by itself). So I asked if there was anything else they could do and eventually he GAVE ME A FREE LIGHTNING CHARGER.

In summary, Apple won't price match, but if you ask nicely they will give you a freebee that could be easily 40-50 bucks in value. YMMV, of course, but worth checking if you can get something for free! Good luck.

jogs2012

Member

posted: Dec. 16, 2012 @ 11:57a

Fry's has it for $144

klamen

Senior Member - 1K

posted: Dec. 16, 2012 @ 12:32p

jogs2012 said: Fry's has it for $144

Actually Fry's now has it for $126.

MrJohnny

Member

posted: Dec. 16, 2012 @ 2:38p

I went to my local Best Buy store (So Cal) and bought a iPhone 5 16gb Verizon for $149 (upgrade eligible)The BBMobile rep said that the 5000 reward points only applied to non-Apple phones (Android, etc...)

Also, some newer news to me...Verizon now charges a $30/line upgrade fee (to your next bill) for whenever you upgrade a phone regardless of if you're upgrade eligible or not. Apparently all the other carriers have had this fee but now doubled their previous rate.I paid around $230ish with CA tax.

On a different note, I also bought a Lifeproof case...its one of those new waterproof, droppable cases. Its pretty cool, but the sound quality is pretty horrible...

mistadeal

Tired Member

posted: Dec. 17, 2012 @ 12:51p

Purchased from rewardszone site @$199 with in-store pickup. Store was unable to price match to WalMart/Frys on their computers, and told me I had to call 888-Bestbuy since I ordered online. I was transferred from 888-BESTBUY to the mobile solutions (Rewardszone) who told me that the $199 price with $100 gift card was not matchable to the $149 in-store, or $127 WalMart price.

tightwadlet

Senior Member

posted: Dec. 18, 2012 @ 2:25p

Best buy let me take my new account AT&T iPhone 5 without taking it out of the box and activating it. Does this mean I can put in my Straight Talk sim to activate and get service without AT&T contract since they didn't do it in the store? TIA

cooldealsguy

New Member

posted: Dec. 18, 2012 @ 5:51p

I was able to pricematch the $127 Walmert deal in Southern California Bestbuy yesterday.

tightwadlet

Senior Member

posted: Dec. 18, 2012 @ 7:17p

cooldealsguy said: I was able to pricematch the $127 Walmert deal in Southern California Bestbuy yesterday.

I did too. My tax in ca was $59 that seems like too much.

What are the chances of getting activation waived by AT&T ?

emp1

Senior Member

posted: Dec. 19, 2012 @ 12:03a

cooldealsguy said: I was able to pricematch the $127 Walmert deal in Southern California Bestbuy yesterday.Got a price match this morning in the Best Buy in Rockland County, NY. I asked and she said no problem, didn't ask for proof or if any Walmarts had them in stock. She heard about the WalMart $127 price online but she said I was the first person to ask her for the price match...

Does anybody have any experience with the Best Buy insurance for the iPhone? Is it worth it? How do they handle claims? What is not covered?

tightwadlet

Senior Member

posted: Dec. 19, 2012 @ 3:01a

How can my tax for iPhone 5 16gb be $59.35 in Fullerton, CA BB when it's 7.75% based on $699. I think they ripped me off. $126 PM with $60 in tax. Not a good deal. I bought it to pay ETF with AT&t and keep the phone 5. Too much of a hassle and headache without knowing all the fees and taxes on the final bill. I think I will pay a little more at the Appe store for unlocked and have a 30 day return policy without paying the activation fees and other hidden cost.

sillar68

Member

posted: Dec. 19, 2012 @ 9:51a

tightwadlet said: How can my tax for iPhone 5 16gb be $59.35 in Fullerton, CA BB when it's 7.75% based on $699. I think they ripped me off. $126 PM with $60 in tax. Not a good deal. I bought it to pay ETF with AT&t and keep the phone 5. Too much of a hassle and headache without knowing all the fees and taxes on the final bill. I think I will pay a little more at the Appe store for unlocked and have a 30 day return policy without paying the activation fees and other hidden cost.

What did they say when you asked them how they got to $59.35? I'm curious about that too - that math doesn't make sense. Can you post a pic of your receipt?

tightwadlet

Senior Member

posted: Dec. 19, 2012 @ 11:20a

sillar68 said: tightwadlet said: How can my tax for iPhone 5 16gb be $59.35 in Fullerton, CA BB when it's 7.75% based on $699. I think they ripped me off. $126 PM with $60 in tax. Not a good deal. I bought it to pay ETF with AT&t and keep the phone 5. Too much of a hassle and headache without knowing all the fees and taxes on the final bill. I think I will pay a little more at the Appe store for unlocked and have a 30 day return policy without paying the activation fees and other hidden cost.

What did they say when you asked them how they got to $59.35? I'm curious about that too - that math doesn't make sense. Can you post a pic of your receipt?

I'm going to call the best buy mobile number when I get home from work. Receipt doesn't even show the tax percentage in Fullerton CA, only shows tax amount. The Att 16GB iphone 5,was my only purchase. I had to look at other purchase receipts from BB to see the 7.75%. I'm going to be returning the phone later. My 4s is fine for now.. I don't want to pay the ETF and other final bill fees only to find out its not much cheaper than buying unlocked from the Apple Store.

sillar68

Member

posted: Dec. 19, 2012 @ 12:24p

tightwadlet said: I'm going to call the best buy mobile number when I get home from work. Receipt doesn't even show the tax percentage in Fullerton CA, only shows tax amount. The Att 16GB iphone 5,was my only purchase. I had to look at other purchase receipts from BB to see the 7.75%. I'm going to be returning the phone later. My 4s is fine for now.. I don't want to pay the ETF and other final bill fees only to find out its not much cheaper than buying unlocked from the Apple Store.

I thought I saw somewhere on fatwallet that AT&T will match the $127 price at WalMart/Frys/Sam's, etc.

tightwadlet

Senior Member

posted: Dec. 19, 2012 @ 2:45p

sillar68 said: tightwadlet said: I'm going to call the best buy mobile number when I get home from work. Receipt doesn't even show the tax percentage in Fullerton CA, only shows tax amount. The Att 16GB iphone 5,was my only purchase. I had to look at other purchase receipts from BB to see the 7.75%. I'm going to be returning the phone later. My 4s is fine for now.. I don't want to pay the ETF and other final bill fees only to find out its not much cheaper than buying unlocked from the Apple Store.

I thought I saw somewhere on fatwallet that AT&T will match the $127 price at WalMart/Frys/Sam's, etc.

They matched Frys at $126 but they still taxed me $60. I just got back from returning. No mobile manager nor store GM knows why the tax is so high. It is automatically calculated in the system. They all agreed is definitely higher than the 7.75% OC tax based on tge retail of the phone $699. That's fraudulent if you ask me.

dpsverman

Member

posted: Dec. 19, 2012 @ 2:57p

rsuaver said: adkhighpeaks said: Awesome deal! just upgraded to the iphone5 for the $149 price with 5000 bonus reward points which equals $100Thanks!!

the 5K points is 'best buy mobile solution points' - anyone know what this is about? Also, that deal seems to be only thru best buy mobile - they did lower the price to $150.

Do you see any mention of 5K points in your rewards zone?

Pgolnick

New Member

posted: Dec. 19, 2012 @ 5:12p

Was able to pricematch at BB for WalMart 127 price without a problem in Akron, OH. yesterday. Stopped at 2 Verizon store before and they would not match. Their loss.

acrokale

New Member

posted: Dec. 19, 2012 @ 5:31p

This is insane

Frugalmaven

Member

posted: Dec. 19, 2012 @ 5:33p

My DD just got back from Best Buy in troy, MI. She didn't even need walmarts ad to price match they knew all about walmarts price.

RadioShack also 149 and get 10.00 back with every 50.00 spent *Receive a $10 off coupon viaemail for every$50 in qualifying purchases per transaction (before tax/shipping) atparticipating stores and RadioShack.com through 1/5/13. Must provide valid email addressto receivecoupon(s), exceptin California. Email will be sent within 7 days of purchase. Multiple coupons can be earned per transaction, butonly onecoupon can beredeemed at atime. Some restrictions apply. No cash value. Void whereprohibited. Processmay differ inCalifornia. Merchandise returns which result in anon-qualifying purchase amountwill changethenumber of couponsyou receive. For onlinepurchases, a maximum of 20 coupons can be earned per customer for theduration of thepromotion.

scdream

Ancient Member

posted: Dec. 23, 2012 @ 3:39p

I am in line at fullerton, ca best buy. I am guessing $56-60 was due to activation fee being tacked on. Activation is usually $36.

kdjl1

New Member

posted: Jan. 5, 2013 @ 8:04p

Hurry, Target has the same deal as BestBuy. Today, Jan.5th, is the last day. In my area, Best Buy and WalMart are out of the iPhones for AT&T. However, Target is selling the iPhone 5 for $149.99 and the iPhone 4s for $49.99. (NO ACTIVATION FEE)

If you have a Target Redcard (Debit or Credit), you'll get 5% off your price.

These prices are valid for new customers or customers qualified for an upgrade. Deal is for ATT and Sprint customers. It appeared that Verizon phones were the "regular" price.

These deals may not go away. I don't have links right now, but suppliers for apple said they have dramatically cut orders for 2013 based on weaker than expected demand. I think there is still a glut of inventory and they are rushing to clear then out.

Another rumor with credibility is the next iPhone will be released much earlier this year given the challenges suppliers have gearing up for September launches.

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